Lawyer seeks medical treatment as Zahir Jaffer appears before Islamabad court in chair

ISLAMABAD: The lawyer of Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the grisly murder of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam in July last year, on Monday pleaded with an Islamabad trial court to order medical treatment of his client, who was brought into the courtroom in a chair. 
Mukadam, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 neighborhood, in a case that has sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women. The key suspect was arrested from the crime scene on the day of the murder and has since been in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. 
Others charged in the case include Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, their three household staff, Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel, and six workers from Therapy Works, a counselling center from where Jaffer had received certification to become a therapist and where he had been receiving treatment in the weeks leading up to the murder. 
The case is now in the concluding stage in the Islamabad district court, where additional sessions judge Atta Rabbani has been conducting the hearings. Eyewitnesses have been recording their statements in the case and defense attorneys cross-examining them. Inspector Abdul Sattar, who has investigated the case, also recorded his testimony before the court on Monday. 
As the hearing began, Jaffer’s counsel objected to the proceeding and called it “illegal.” “The prime suspect Zahir Jaffer is not being presented [before the court] despite our repeated requests,” advocate Usman Riaz Gill objected. 
The judge said he had already written a letter to prison authorities for the suspect’s medical examination. “You are trying to obstruct the proceeding by giving such statements,” Justice Rabbani told Jaffer’s lawyer, expressing his displeasure. 
Later, police officials brought Jaffer in the courtroom while carrying him in a chair. The accused was handcuffed, wearing a trouser and jacket, and appeared to be listless and fragile. After his brief attendance, he was shifted back to a lock-up on the court premises. 
“His mental health has deteriorated seriously,” Jaffer’s lawyer said, pleading the court for a written order for his client’s medical treatment. 
The judge said he had already issued a written order for the purpose. To which, Jaffer’s lawyer said the order was not acted upon and therefore, they had submitted a new petition. The court was informed that Jaffer was facing “some medical issues” in the prison and was unable to walk, stand and move for the last ten days. 
“That the accused Zahir is on wheelchair but prison authorities are not providing him proper medical treatment and playing with the life of a prisoner whose custody is under the control of this court,” read the application submitted on the behalf of Jaffer’s father Zakir Jaffer on Saturday. 
Earlier in January, the court rejected an application seeking the constitution of a medical board to determine Jaffer’s mental health after he had twice been expelled from the courtroom for disrupting trial proceedings. 
On one occasion, police officers had to carry Jaffer out of the courtroom building after he used indecent language and misbehaved with the judge. The Islamabad police later registered a criminal case against Jaffer for using “abusive language” and attempting suicide on the court premises. 
In Monday’s hearing, the investigation officer in the case recounted the whole investigation process and the collection of evidence from the crime scene. 
Defense lawyers also cross-examined Noor Mukadam’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, who recorded his statement in the case on Saturday. 
The court will resume hearing the case on January 20.